Haute a la Carte

My name is Jenelle Frances. I am a shopaholic. Wait, I really am. I also overindulge on food. Join me as I unashamedly share with you my guilty pleasures. Food and fashion in NYC! If only I could monetize this blog…

Monday, June 10, 2013

That
familiar email sound just got a little sweeter…it’s my favorite email of the
day! It arrives like clockwork every day around 11:50 am from the
Gilt Groupe. The Gilt Groupe provides instant access to top designer
labels at up to 60% off retail if you’re a member!

Today’s
bargains are Balenciaga, Rachel Zoe and accessories for under $75, among
other name brand deliciousness. This opportunity is the reason that
I was awkwardly and anxiously backing away from a friendly colleague, trying to
chat after our 11 am meeting. With much excitement and great
anticipation, I rush back to my desk to log on, and to my dismay EVERYTHING
good is sold out already! How could this be? I glance at my clock
and of course, now it makes sense—it’s 12:10 pm. Those ten minutes trying
to get away from my colleague have cost me the opportunity to snag the items I
want. Grrr.

Have any
of you ever experienced this problem? Well, I can’t get those Chloe
sunglasses from yesterday to magically reappear in your shopping cart, but
I can offer some helpful tips on making the most of your Gilt experience. Here
they are, give them a try and let me know if it improves your experience!

Try to be at your
computer, ready to shop, at11:58 AM!

Once you receive the
email log on to the site and at exactly11:59 amstart refreshing the site.

Once all the
boutiques open, quickly add everything available that you could POSSIBLY want
in your size and put it in your shopping cart. Do NOT waste time thinking
about it at this stage–GET IT IN YOUR CART FIRST!

You will then only
have 10 minutes or less to evaluate the contents of your shopping cart and make
the final decisions.

The goal
is to throw everything in your cart ASAP while they are still available and
then to maximize your time deciding if you want what’s in your
cart. Whether you can afford it or not, that is a different problem
that I can’t help you with!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

From the moment we all wake up to the moment we go to bed we
are forced to constantly make decisions. These decisions range in
importance from small to great—for example what should we wear to work… all the
way to how much insulin we should dispense to a diabetic child. (Oh wait,
that might just be me!) One seemingly trivial yet suuuuper important
decision that I eagerly anticipate is… what’s for lunch today??!? The
urge usually strikes around 10:30am and much to my colleagues' dismay, doesn’t
go away until it’s resolved!

For anyone in the vicinity of the West 50s, if you haven’t
heard of Q2 Thai, then you should definitely check it out! They have an
endless selection of lunch options all for the low low (Manhattan) price of
$8.95. If you add an extra dollar you can add beef, shrimp, or
squid. I know all of you are probably
thinking, “that’s pretty standard,” but the deal gets better! (And no, I don’t
work on commission.) In addition, you get to choose from spring
rolls, crab croquette, or steam dumplings, soda, and a small salad. This
girl chooses the Pad See-Ew with Shrimp and the Sprite and unbuttons her jeans
while digesting. Portions are healthy, delivery is fast, employees are
friendly, and the packaging is great. They are hooked up on Seamless and
to those of you still with doubts, they get an A rating from the Health
Board. Boom!

Now, I have to admit that I am experiencing some angst about
sharing with my readers this insider tip… Don’t all of you go out and take
advantage of it at the same time please, because then we’d all be experiencing
longer delivery times. Don’t say I didn’t do anything for you!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Hello, Jenelle Frances here and I will be blogging about two of
my biggest passions in life; food and fashion!

A little background on me… I am a wife and mother of two
beautiful children, ages 5 and 7. I was
born in NYC and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens. As you may or may not know, Jackson Heights
is known as an actual representation of the “melting pot” because of the many
cultures that comprise the neighborhood. Rumor has it that we have some of the
best Indian and Latin restaurants in all of the five boroughs, which could
explain why I turned out to be such a foodie!
In addition to having some amazing restaurants to satisfy my palate, my
mother and father, a Dominican and Ecuadorian respectively, certainly know
their way around the kitchen.

My second passion is fashion. Ever since I was a little girl
I've always loved everything and anything that had to do with fashion. Some of my fondest childhood memories (no
laughing please) involved setting up a makeshift Macy’s in my childhood bedroom
and scanning friends’ make-believe coupons for good deals, while wearing my mother’s
high heels. My father knew right away that he was in trouble, since he saw I
would be spending a lot of time at the local mall and his plastic was NOT
make-believe!

This blog will be dedicated to sharing with you some of the
amazing food from local joints in my ‘hood and throughout New York City, as
well as an occasional home cooked meal that I've eaten during the day while
looking for inspired pieces of clothing and sample sales in the place that is
called the Big Apple. I hope you enjoy it!